Calgary Flames Pre-Camp Forward Projections 2025

The Calgary Flames begin their 2025-26 hockey calendar this week with their annual prospect camp which culminates with a pair of games against the Edmonton Oilers prospects on the weekend (Friday @ Edmonton, Sunday @ Calgary).

With the main training camp to kick off shortly after, it’s time to start doing some projections on how the forward corps of the Flames may shake out. Of course changes often happen over the course of training camp, so this exercise will be a focus on how things seem to stand today.

It is important to remember that the Flames carried a 13 forwards/8 defense roster in 2024-25, and it’s very possible that they continue that again this season or return to the more standard 14F/7D. As of September 8 the Flames have not added any veteran PTOs into the fold.

Let’s get into the locks, probable locks, and bubble players heading into the season. With a Rasmus Anderssson trade expected to go down at some point this season, things could shake up for both the defense and the forwards.

Building the Roster

NHL Definite Locks (Sorted by Cap Hit)

1. W Jonathan Huberdeau
2. C Nazem Kadri
3. W Matt Coronato
4. C/W Yegor Sharangovich
5. W Blake Coleman
6. C Mikael Backlund
7. C Morgan Frost
8. C/W Connor Zary
9. W Martin Pospisil

There’s not much to say about this grouping of forwards as all of them are guaranteed to play important roles on the roster this season. There will be more discussion of who actually plays where further down in the article. One player that may garner some trade interest during training camp could be Blake Coleman who seems like he could nicely round out a lot of contending rosters.

NHL Probable Locks

1. W Joel Farabee
2. W Ryan Lomberg

There is a lot of pressure on Joel Farabee heading into this season who had just six points in 31 games with the Flames after being acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers. I don’t think he loses an NHL job, but he comes off as a guy that could find himself further down the lineup than anticipated unless he shows signs of progress in camp.

Ryan Lomberg is definitely going to be on the NHL roster when the season kicks off, but it does seem very possible that he could be pushed to a 13th forward or at least could see some healthy scratch nights.

The Flames want their young guys to “take” jobs from veterans and these two are players that I could see at least pushed down the lineup if someone outside of the “locks” tiers make a statement.

Bubble Players

1. W Adam Klapka
2. C/W Justin Kirkland
3. W Dryden Hunt
4. C/W Sam Honzek (Waivers not required)
5. C/W Rory Kerins
6. C/W Sam Morton

With the locks out of the way, there are roughly 2-3 jobs left for this group to fight for heading into camp. The inside track of those two spots has to almost definitely go to Adam Klapka who had a strong showing to end the season, and Justin Kirkland who had become a regular prior to a season-ending knee injury on November 29.

Klapka saw his ice time rise significantly in the final few weeks of 2024-25, roughly doubling from a typical 7-9 minutes to 15-18 minutes during the Flames most critical games of the season (Games 78-82). With his hulking frame but a subtle mix offensive skill, Klapka could be one of the more interesting players to watch in a full-time NHL role. One of the open spots should be his to lose in camp.

Kirkland was one of the feel-good stories of the early portion in 2024-25, finally becoming a NHL regular for the first time in his career at the age of 28. He was the personification of the Flames message of “jobs are there to be taken” as he wasn’t really on anyone’s radar heading into the season. Heading into this year, he likely has the inside track with his combination of ability to play center, but perhaps more importantly is his shootout acumen. Kirkland went 3/4 in the shootout while being described as “nearly unstoppable”. For a Flames team that missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker and had 14 loser points, Kirkland’s shootout abilities should give him the edge on a NHL job.

For Hunt/Honzek/Kerins/Morton, there may be one open forward position left to battle for;

Hunt: Likely finds himself in the AHL as he has passed through waivers numerous times before. You know what you get with him but would need a really impressive camp to find himself on the opening night roster barring injuries.

Honzek: After cracking the Flames lineup out of camp last year and playing five NHL games, Honzek’s season was derailed by injury and he really struggled to take a step forward in the AHL. At just 20 years old there’s lots of time for him to develop still, but another strong camp could get him right back into the NHL fold.

Kerins: Out of these four, Kerins might be the most interesting player organizationally. A 6th round pick in 2020, Kerins has come up the ranks through the ECHL and AHL, nearly hitting a point per game with the Wranglers last season. He had four points in five NHL games with the team, but seemed to fall out of favour for any future callups after being sent down in late January. This will be the first season where the 23 year old will require waivers to go to the AHL. Does Calgary risk losing him after losing Cole Schwindt last season who was in a similar position?

Morton: After receiving a call-up for Game 82, Morton picked up his first NHL goal and had a few flashes in that game. It seems most probable that Morton’s year starts with the Wranglers, but a good training camp could put him near the top of the list for an early call-up if needed. Morton picked up 45 points in 70 AHL games during his first pro season but at 26 years old, time is really ticking already for him to make his NHL impact. He can’t afford a bad training camp this year.

Lineup Projection as of Sept 8

After review the Flames lineup including the defence corps, I am fairly confident that we could see the team return to a 14F/7D arrangement this season, especially if an Andersson trade is completed. With that in mind, here is my first pre-camp projected lineup for the team.

Jonathan Huberdeau – Nazem Kadri – Yegor Sharangovich

Connor Zary – Morgan Frost – Matt Coronato

Joel Farabee – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman

Ryan Lomberg – Justin Kirkland – Martin Pospisil

Adam Klapka, Rory Kerins

A major discussion point heading into this season is whether or not the Flames will try to get both Connor Zary and Morgan Frost into center roles. This also depends on if they would be willing to slot Backlund down to a de-facto 4C role, with increased defensive responsibilities.

In the short-term with Zary on the wing to start, a Zary-Frost-Coronato line would make a lot of sense for the team to get those three building chemistry as potential long-term lineup pieces. With a strong start to the season, it is very possible that line could usurp the Kadri line as the top trio on the team.

Klapka and Kerins both draw the healthy scratch card on the initial lineup, but could very easily find themselves inserted on a regular basis as the season gets going and performance/injuries shake out.

The team continues to lack an elite offensive talent and will have to hope that they can score-by-committee while also remaining defensively steadfast as they were in 2024-25. Ultimately it is a good thing as Craig Conroy’s management team didn’t try to make big acquisitions after exceeding expectations last year, but it does mean that even with positive regression from some players, Calgary will be hard pressed to score again.

Also Read: Calgary Flames Pre-Camp Defense and Goalie Projections

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